1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a unitary, one piece clip, preferably intended for attaching badges and other display items to garments, which safely and securely attaches the display item to a fabric, e.g., jacket pocket, or other flexible material.
2. Related Art
A badge clip is a clamping device to which a badge is attached and which is then clamped onto the users apparel. Typically such a clip is made of metal or plastic and employs jaws that open and close, and when closed, capture a narrow piece of the wearer's apparel. The jaw portion of the clip that actually grasps the fabric is usually a very narrow edge of the clip's jaw, i.e., thin teeth, that are only about 0.005″×0.40″ in length. Typically, the actual teeth's area of a metal or plastic clip that grasps the clothing is only about 0.005 square inches.
Such badge clips usually employ springs and/or plastic levers that are stressed when the clip is used. For example, a metal spring clip tends to have a greater clamping force than, for example, a plastic clip and may be reused hundreds of times because the metal hinge or spring of the clip does not readily fatigue. However, such a metal clip is relatively expensive to manufacture. On the other hand, a plastic clip, which is less expensive to manufacture, usually includes levers and/or hinges made of plastic that are under severe stress when used and become progressively weaker with reuse due to the plastic flow of the molded plastic.
Other ways of attaching a badge to a person's clothing, are to provide a pressure-sensitive-adhesive badge that can be adhered to the user's clothing or to provide pins to enable the badge to be pinned onto the clothing. An adhesive backed badge is undesirable because it can only be used once and can damage certain type fabrics. Pinning a name badge to clothing, although used for many years, can puncture and tear delicate fabrics and presents difficulties in maintaining the badge, in the proper orientation. Additionally, the sharp point of the pin can stick and injure people, creating a health hazard. In hospitals and other environments, pin badges are not acceptable because a puncture of the skin can cause an infection or a contagious situation, e.g., HIV.
Lastly, a lanyard can be used to dangle a name badge from the user's neck. The badge is usually twirling, too high, or too low making it difficult to read as well as presenting anatomical difficulties for many females and/or an embarrassment for most men.
The applicant is aware of the following prior art clips and fastening means:    U.S. Pat. No. 7,174,608 to Ching    U.S. Pat. No. 6,973,700 to Hsiao    U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,103 to Gould    U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,811 to Adams    U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,865 to O'Mahony    U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,788 to Choy et al    U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,181 to Groner    U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,971 to Haas et al.    U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,742 to Haas    U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,976 to Reeves    U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,726 to Fan    U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,097 to Blanchard et al.    U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,655 to Ullman, Jr.    U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,639 to Koleske    U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,008 to Wannag    U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,272 to Germani    U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,052 to Borisoff    U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,326 to Naffin    U.S. Pat. No. 2,618,086 to Komorous    U.S. Pat. No. 1,291,432 to Davis    U.S. Pat. No. 1,193,265 to Honecker    US Publication No. 2003/0014894 to Haas    US Publication No. 2004/0133964 to Rudenko    US Publication No. 2006/0150457 to O'Boyle    US Publication No. 2008/0072403 to Peck et al.    US Publication No. 2009/0217558 to Maier-Hunke    U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 552,978 to Liao    U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 386,215 to White et al.    U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 314,015 to Hickman.
None of these references teach or suggest the inventor's clip structure and combination of beneficial functions.